Railway track torpedo



June 18, 1940. I G. JACKSON 2,205,293

" .RAILWAY TRACK TOHPEDO 7 Filed Aug. 27, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 18, 1940. JACKSQN 2,205,293

RAILWAY TRACK TORPEDO Filed Aug. 27, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 18,1940 2,205,293

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,205,293 RAILWAY TRACK TORPEDO George B. Jackson, Orlando, Fla.

Application August 27, 1938, Serial No. 227,173

2 Claims. (01. 246-487) This invention relates to improvements in foil or other suitable material. As shown in Fig. railway track torpedoes, and more particularly 3, the metal sheet 3 is considerably wider than to torpedoes of the type employing a metallic enthe perimetral dimension of the explosive body velope or container which functions both to hold I for a purpose hereinafter described, and is suf- 5 the explosive and as a means for securing the ficiently greater in length than the cylinder l to 6 torpedo to the track. afford at the ends of the latter extending por- A principal object of the invention is to protions of metal which function as straps for sevide a torpedo of this type, wherein the envelope curing the torpedo to the rail. or container consisting of an integral sheet of In order to bring torpedoes of this type into 10 metal, preferably lead foil, shall have in that conformity with the specifications of the Ameri- 10' portion immediately embracing the explosive can Railway Association for standard track torcomposition, or at least at the top and sides of pedoes, it is necessary that the lead foil conthis portion, a wall thickness not exceeding a tainer 3 shall have in those portions embracing permissible maximum, and shall exhibit in the the top and sides of the body of explosive when end portions thereof, which constitute the straps the torpedo is properly secured to the rail a wall 15 Q for securing the torpedo to the rail, a greater thickness not exceeding a predetermined maxithickness of metal conforming at least to a permum, so that the Weight of metal in these parts missible minimum for these portions. shall not be great enough to .cause injury by fly- More specifically, the invention contemplates ing fragments when the torpedo is exploded. It

the provision of a tubular metallic container is further required that the strap-like ends of the 20 consisting of an integral sheet of lead foil or torpedo, if composed of lead, shall have a thickother suitable sheet metal, which by reason of ness consistent with the function of those parts the novel formation hereinafter described shall to securely bind the torpedo on the rail. Her'econform accurately to the controlling specificatofore in torpedoes of this type it has been found tions for standard track torpedoes. necessary to compromise between these two re- 25 The invention will be more readily understood quirements. Thus, if for the conventional contain by reference to the attached drawings, wherein: er a lead foil is employed of sufficient thickness to Figure l is an enlarged view in perspective afford an adequate Weight and strength of metal of a torpedo made in accordance with my inin the strap portions of the torpedo, then the wall vention; thickness of the container in that portion em- 30 Figs. 2 and 3 are, respectively, views in perbracing the explosive body is greater than the spective of the two principal component parts considered safe maximum. If, on the other hand, of the torpedo; the container is composed of foil sufficiently thin Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are, respectively, enlarged to insure againstinjury from fiying fragments,

5 transverse sectional views showing successive then the strap portions of the container fail to steps in the formation of the torpedo, said secmeet the specifications relating to adequate tions being taken on a line corresponding to line strength in those portions.

G6, Fig. 1; Specifically, the. specifications of the A. R. A., Fig. 7 is a view in perspective of an elemen above referred to, require that if the means for 40 of the torpedo shown in the preceding figures; fastening the torpedo on the rail consists of 40 Fig. 8 is a section on the line 88, Fig. 1; lead, it must take the form of a pure lead strap Fig. 9 is a view in perspective of a torpedo five-sixteenths inch wide, seven and one-quarconstituting another embodiment of the inventer inches longand four one-hundredthsinch tion; thick. A further requirement, as stated, is to Fig. 10 is a section on the line |0lil, Fig. 9; the effect that the torpedo when exploded must 45 Fig. 11 is a section on the line lI-l I, Fig. 9, cause no dangerous projection of fragments. In

and order to meet this latter requirement, it is de- Fig. 12 is a view in perspective of an element sirable that the thickness of the lead foil used of the torpedo shown in Fig. 9. to form the envelope shall not exceed five one- A torpedo made in accordance with my inthousandths inch, but if, in producing a torpedo 50' vention consists, in a preferred embodiment, of in accordance with the prior practices, the exa body I of explosive composition protected by plosive compound is inserted in a simple tube a suitable waterproof envelope, 2, of waxed paper made of this gauge of foil, the projecting ends of or the like; the whole Wrapped in a metallic conthe tube which are to function as the securing 5 .tainer consisting of an integral sheet 3 of lead strap will fail to meet the weight and dimensional requirements for that element. If, on the other hand, foil of a thickness sufficient to produce adequate weight in the strap portion be used, then the torpedo fails to meet the requirement relating to flying fragments.

In producing a torpedo in accordance with my invention, and for the reason set forth above, I employ, preferably a pure lead foil of no more than five one-thousandths of an inch in thickness. A sheet, 3, of this foil is used having a length somewhat in excess of seven and onequarter inches (the required length of the strap, as set forth above), and having a width substantially in excess of that required to permit the forming of the sheet lengthwise into a tube of approximately one-half inch diameter. A tube of this size is adapted to contain the amount of explosive compound required by the specifications and to afford at the ends of the explosive body a sufiicient length of metal to adequately secure the torpedo to the rail. When the sheet, 3, of foil is wrapped around the explosive l, the excess width of the sheet is employed to form an interfolded seam of several thicknesses of foil, extending alongone side of the tube and continuously from one end tothe other, as indicated at 4 in Figs. 1, 6 and 8. As shown in the latter figure, this scam consists in thepresent instance of four layers of foil, and the excess width of the foil sheet which provides for the seam is such that the Width of the latter is approximately, but not less than, five-sixteenths of an inch, or approximately 20% of the circumference of the tubular casing.

It will now be seen that if the extended ends 5 of the tube at opposite ends of the explosive body were pressed flat upon the seam, there would exist in those portions six thicknesses of foil, or an effective thickness of thirty-one thousandths of an inch. This is less than the minimum thickness of strap required by the specifications. The ends of the half-inch tube when flattened, however, would have a width considerably in excess of the required five-sixteenths inch strap, and this excess width is sufiicient to permit the tucking in of the opposite sides of the tube, as indicated at 6, without, however, reducing the effective width below the required fivesixteenths of an inch minimum. When the tube is thus folded, the tucks 6 afford two additional thicknesses of the five one-thousandths inch foil, bringing the total thickness of the strap up to the required four one-hundredths of an inch. In this manner a strap is produced which meets the specifications in full degee both as to material and dimensions, and at the same time the thickness of foil at the top and sides of the explosive body does not exceed five one-thousandths of an inch.

The formation described above adapts itself Well in other respects to the aforesaid standard specifications. The specifications require that the torpedo must withstand immersion in cold water for at least one hour without impairing its explosive properties. The lead sheath is in itself impermeable to water, but it is essential that the seam shall be of a character to exclude passage of water to the interior of the lead casing. The formation of an adequate securing strap, as described above, produces a seam of this character, and the interfolded layers of foil to which the seam is composed effectively precludes the entrance of moisture through the seam.

This character of interfolded seam has a further desirable feature. It is required by the spectending away from their juncture in the cylinder 8. Figure 5 shows the initial joint folding on themselves of the strips 1, I. Figure 6 shows the ,second and final fold which completes the seam and lays the latter flatly against the side of the cylinder 8. In securing the label tothe torpedo as set forth above, it is only necessary, as shown in'Fig. 4, to pass the label, which is indicated by the reference numeral 9, around the cylinder 8 and along the opposite faces of the foil strips 1. In the present instance, one end of the label is passed outwardly and around the outer extreme edges of the strips 1 as indicated at H, whereas the opposite end of the label is terminated short of the outer end edges .of the strips. The initial fold of the foil, as illustrated in Fig. 5, securely anchors the ends of the label in the seam, and in the final fold of the foil, as shown in Fig. 6, the label is clamped in place around the cylindrical portion of the torpedo in a manner preclusive of accidental removal.

While a foil of five one-thousandths of an inch thickness formed into a casing as described above avoids all danger from flying fragments of metal, a foil of smaller gauge may be used, if desired, without departing from the invention. It is to be noted that in the use of a foil of lesser thicknessthan five one-thousandths of an inch, it becomes necessary to modify the seam in order to build up thethickness of that part of the torpedo to the minimum thickness of four onehundredths of an inch as required in the specification. This can readily be done in the manner illustrated, for example, in Figs. 9, 10 and 11, wherein it will be noted that the foil sheet is given a sufficient width in excess of that required to form the basic one-half inch cylinder which embraces the explosive body, to permit of inclusion in. the seam and over the entire width of the strap of two extra layers of foil. If with a seam of this formation a foil is used of four one-thousandths of an inch, the effective thickness of the strapmotion of the torpedo, consisting in eifect of ten layers of this foil, will have an effective thickness of the required four onehundredths of an inch.

When a foil of thickness less than five onethousandths of an inch is used, I prefer to provide the torpedo with an outer protective cylinder it of tough paper or cardboard as shown in Figs. 9 and 10. This outer cylinder will have imprinted thereon the required warning, and at the strap or bottom side of the torpedo I may utilize this outer cylinder as a. medium for including the required coating of sand, in accordance with the specification, the sand, indicated at 12, be-

ing attached to the outer cylinder by means of a suitable adhesive. This outer protective cylinder of paper precludes any damage to, or perforation of, the relatively thin lead of the casing. From the embodiment of my invention shown in Figs. 1 to 8, inclusive, it is apparent that I may utilize the outer label in a similar manner to carry the sand at the bottom of the torpedo, it

being preferable for this purpose to form the degree the requirements of the standard speci-.

fications. It will be understood, of course, that the invention is not limited to a torpedo of the particular cylindrical form shown and described,

and that there may be considerable modification as to form without departure from the inventio as defined in the appended claims. Y

I claim:

l. A railway track torpedo comprising a body of explosive composition and a tubular envelope of metal foil, said envelope materially exceeding the explosive body in both the axial and perimetral dimensions, said axial excess providing at each end of said body an extended portion of metal for securing the torpedo to the rail, and the said perimetral excess being folded on itself to provide at one side of the envelope a longitudinal strap of several thicknesses of the foil, said explosive body except in the area of said strap being embraced by a single thickness of the foil, and said thickness being sufficiently small to preclude danger from flying fragments of said foil when the torpedo is exploded, and

said perimetral excess being sufficiently great to r afford a strap not materially ex'ceeding20% of the perimetral dimension of the tube in width and containing at least four thicknesses of the foil.

2. A railway track torpedo comprising a body of explosive composition and a tubular envelope of metal foil, said envelope materially exceeding the explosive body in both the axial and perimetral dimensions, said axial excess providing at each end of said body an extended portion of metal for securing the torpedo to the rail, and

the said perimetral excess being folded on itself v to provide at one side of the envelope a longitudinal strap of several thicknesses of the foil, said explosive body except in the area of said strap being embraced by a single thickness of the foil, and said thickness being sufliciently small to preclude danger from flying fragments v of said foil when the torpedo is exploded, and

said perimetral excess being sufficiently great to afford a strap not materially exceeding 20% of I the perimetral dimension of the tube in width ,r

and containing at least four thicknesses of the foil, said extended end portions of the envelope being folded longitudinally to aiford in those portions additional thicknesses of foil augmenting the thickness of said strap.

' GEORGE B. JACKSON. 

